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Green banking practices and environmental performance: navigating sustainability in banks

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Abstract

The growing concerns about global climate change have thrust green banking and green finance into the forefront of discussions. The research suggests that green banking plays a pivotal role in advancing environmental sustainability. This study focuses on examining the profound impact of green banking practices on the environmental performance of banks, with a specific focus on both private and public sector banks operating in India through a survey involving 500 bank employees the study employed partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings highlight various aspects of green banking, encompassing employee-related practices, operational procedures, customer engagement, and policy adherence, and significantly contribute to the promotion of green finance, resulting in substantial positive effects. Moreover, the study underscores the substantial and positive influence of banks’ green financing on their environmental performance. Interestingly, the operational features of green banking practices emerged as having a notable impact on banks’ environmental performance, whereas aspects related to employees, policies, and customers did not directly and significantly influence environmental performance. The results of the study carry significant policy implications, especially for India’s banking sector, in the pursuit of environmental sustainability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dar Ul Aloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Rafia Gulzar

  2. Department of Management Studies, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, J&K, India

    Aijaz Ahmad Bhat & Ajaz Akbar Mir

  3. Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Cyprus International University, Northern Cyprus, Turkey

    Seyed Alireza Athari

  4. Department of Business Technology, Business School, Hourani Center for Applied Scientific Research, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan

    Ahmad Samed Al-Adwan

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  1. Rafia Gulzar
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  2. Aijaz Ahmad Bhat
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  3. Ajaz Akbar Mir
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  4. Seyed Alireza Athari
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  5. Ahmad Samed Al-Adwan
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Rafia Gulzar, Ajaz Akber Mir, and Aijaz Ahmad Bhat performed material preparation, data collection, and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, Seyed Alireza Athari, Ahmad Samed Al-Adwan. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. And all authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Aijaz Ahmad Bhat.

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The original online version of this article was revised: The corresponding Author incorrectly modified the 4th Author name to “Sayed Aalirez Athar” and deleted the affiliation. The correct name should be “Seyed Alireza Athari” and affiliated to “Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Cyprus International University, Northern Cyprus, Turkey”

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Gulzar, R., Bhat, A.A., Mir, A.A. et al. Green banking practices and environmental performance: navigating sustainability in banks. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 23211–23226 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32418-7

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